thompson



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

N. THOMPSON. STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND JARS.

' No. 279,891. Patented June 19,1883.

(No Model.) l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' N. THOMPSON.

- STOPPER FOR. BOTTLES AND JARS. N0. 279,891. Patented June 19,1883.

iiy'i citizen of the United States of America, resid- 7 following is aspecification.

, groove when it is required to remove the stop- UNITED STATES NATHANTHOMPSON, OF BROOKLYN, YORK.

STOPPER FOR BOTTLES AND JARS SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersApplication filed January 3, 1883.

Patent No. 279,891, dated June 19, 1883.

(No modem Patented in England September 2,1882. No. 4,185.

concern NATHAN THOMPSON, a

To all whom it may Be it known that 1,

ing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, in theUnited States of America, have-invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Stoppers for Bottles, Jars, and other Hollow Articles,(for which I have received Letters Patent in Great Britain, No. 4,185,dated September 2, 1882,) of which the According to my presentinvention, I form the bail or handle, preferably, of steel or othersufficiently flexible and elastic wire bent to the required shape toenable it tolie partially around the head-piece or cap of the stopper,or in some cases around theneck of the bottle, and having turned-in endspassing through corresponding holes in the sides of the cap, so as toserve as pivots upon which the handle can turn, such pivot ends being ofsuch a length as to permit of their proj ccting inward underneath aflange or into a groove round the bottle-neck when in the lockingposition, and of being released from such flange or per from the bottle.

I employ my improved stopper in connection with a bottle, jar, or othervessel provided with a groove or flange, as above described, round theneck, which latter is formed conical or inclined on its upper outer edgeor surface, so that by pressing the stopper downward onto the said neckthe pivot ends of the bail or handle shall beflrst forced outward, andthen when the stopper has descended fully into position the said pivotends shall spring inward into the groove or underneath the flange, andthus lock the stopper in position; and in order to facilitate therelease of the stopper I form the head-piece or cap thereof withprojections, and I bend theends of the bail or handle to such a shapethat as the latter is being raised or turned upward for the purpose ofenabling the stopper to be removed, they are forced outward, so as towithdraw the pivot ends from the groove or flange on the bottle-neck,and

thus release the stopper; or in some cases the ends of the bail orhandle may as to be opened outward by coming be so shaped in contact orwith the flange on the bottle-neck, latter and partly with the capsule.The projections on the capsule also assist in preventing the bail orhandle from becoming disconnected from the cap of the stopper by itspivot ends being separated too far. The stopper may consist simply of acap having a disk or ring of cork fitted in its interior; or it mayconsist of an outer cap provided with an inner reversed cap, or with aring surrounded with a strip or a ring of cork, or serving to hold'asolid cork.

And in order that my said invention may be more clearly understood andreadily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanyingdrawings, more fully to describe the same. 7

'In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, Fig. 2 is a plan, andFigs. 3 and l are crosssections, of astopper constructed according to myinvention, and fitted with a dcscendin ortion to enter the mouth of abottle, jar, or other hollow article; and Fig. 5 is a side elevation;Fig. 6 is across-section, and Fig. 7 is a plan, of a stopper constructedaccording to my invention, other suitable material, forming a packing111 the crown thereof, ,so as to press on the top of the neck of abottle or other hollow article. Figs. v8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 representslight modifications.

In all the figures like parts are marked with similar letters ofreference.

a 18 a hollow cap, the cylindricalportion a of which is formed to fltover the upper end, b, of the neck of a bottle, jar, or other hollowarticle. 7

c is a bail or handle, which I preferably form ofsteel or othersufficiently flexible and elastic wire bent to the required shape toenable it to lie partially around the cylindrical part a of thehead-piece or cap of the stopper, as shown at Figs. 1 to 7 or in somecases-,Jor instance, for small bottles-such bail orhandle may be soshaped as to lie closely around the neck of the bottle, as shown atFigs. 8 and 9, or such bail or handle may be formed with all partsthereof lying in the same plane, as shown at Figs. 10 and 11, wherebyits manufacture is facilitated. and cheapened. 'Ihe bail or handle 0 isformed with turned-in ends,

or partly with the and fitted with a disk of cork or which pass throughcorresponding holes in the sides a of the cap, and serve as pivots forthe bail or handle, such pivot ends 0' being of such a length as topermit of their coming underneath a flange or into a groove, Z), on thebottle-neck when in the locking position,

as shown at Figs. 4 and 6, and of being with-" drawn and released fromsuch flange or groove 1), as shown at Fig. 3, when it is required toremove the stopper from the bottle or other article to which it isapplied.

I employ my improved stopper in connection with a bottle, jar, or otherhollow article provided with a groove or flange, I), as described, roundthe neck, which latter is formed conical or inclined on its upper outeredge or surface, 12 so that by pressing the stopper downward onto thesaid neck, the bail or handle 0 being at such time in its lockingposition, the pivot ends 0 of the bail or handle 0 shall be first forcedoutward, and then when the stopper has descended fully into position thesaid pivot ends 0 shall spring inward by the elasticity of the bail orhandle into the groove 1) or underneath the flange on the bottle-neck,and thus lock the stopper in position; and in order vto facilitate therelease of the stopper when required, I form the headpiece or cap athereof with projections a", and I bend the ends of the bail or handle 0at c to such a shape that as the said bail or handle 0 is being raisedor turned upward for the removal of the stopper its ends 0 are forcedoutward by coming into contact with such projections a and the pivotends are thereby withdrawn and released from the groove or flange b onthe bottleneck; or in some cases the ends of the bail or handle are soshaped as to be opened out by coming against the upper part of thecapsule a itself; or they may be opened out by coming against a flangeor projection formed on the bottle-neck below the capsule a, as shown atFigs. 8 and 9, or partly by the latter and partly by the capsule itself,as will be readily understood. The projections a on the capsule a alsoserve to pre vent the liability of the bail or handle 0 becomingentirely disconnected from the cap of the stopper, as in no case can thepivot ends 0 be drawn out of said projections a by the mere raising andlowering of the bail or handle c. I also prefer to make a notch orrecess, (6*, as shown at Fig. 5, in each of the projections a, to limitthe amount of motion given to the bail or handle 0 in raising the same.

The stopper may consist simply of a cap, a, with a disk or ring of cork,a, in the interior thereof, as shown in Figs. G and 8; or it may consistof an outer cap,'a, provided with an inner reversed cap, a as shown atFigs. 8 and 4, or simply with a ring in lieu of such reversed cap asurrounded with a strip or a ring of cork, a; or in the case where ametal ring is used it may be employed to hold a cork which enters themouth of the bottle or other article, as will be readily understood.

I would remark that in all the arrangements above described the pivotends 0" of the bail or handle c'tend, by the elasticity of the latter,

passed such incline, springing inward into the groove b or under neck.

I have found that the necks of bottles and other vessels, although madeto a given size, frequently varyslightly in form from the true circle,in which cases stoppers constructed as shown in Figs. 1 to 11, and ofthe proper size for suchvessels, cannot sometimes be applied thereto,thereby necessitating the employment in such cases of stoppers of largersize than would be necessary were the necks of such vessels trulycircular in form. To obviate this difficulty and to enable stoppers ofthe proper size to be applied to the necks of all vessels of a givensize, although slightly varying in form,

the flange on the bottle- I construct the stopper as shown at Fig. 12,in

which case the cylindrical portion a of the cap a is formed shorter thanin the other cases; but the projections a carrying the pivoted bail orhandle 0, are caused to project downward the required distance, asshown. By these means the cylindrical part a of the cap a does notdescend so far as the bottom part of the incline top I) of the neck ofthe bottle, and therefore does not impede the application of the stopperto vessels of the proper size, but whose necks vary slightly from thetrue circle.

Having thus described the nature of my said invention and the mode inwhich I carry the same into effect, I would have it understood that whatI claim is- 1. The combination, with a vessel having a flange around itsneck, of a cap having a bail or handle provided with bends 0 c fittingbeneath projecting portions of the cap and turnedin ends secured to thecap, and adapted to engage through said cap with the flange of thevessel, when in its horizontal or nearly horizontal position, to lockthe cap to the vessel, and when in its vertical or elevated position tobe unlocked from the vessel, as set forth.

2. The combination, with a vessel having a suitable flange, of a caphaving projecting portions, and a bail or handle provided with bends cand turned-in ends 0, pivoted to the cap, the ends adapted to engagewith the vessel beneath the flange to lock the cap, and the bendsadapted to act against the projecting portions of the cap to expand thebail or handle when the latter is raised to release the ends from theflange to unlock the cap, as set forth.

3. The combination of a vessel having a flange formed with conical upperedge, and a cap having a bail or handle provided with turned-in endspenetrating the sides of the cap, the conical upper edge of the flangeadapted to press out the ends of the bail or handle when the cap isapplied to the vessel, and then permit the ends to spring beneath 5 theflange, as set forth.

4. A cap or stopper having a flange, and a bail or handle provided withbends c 0 fitting beneath projecting portionsof the cap,

and turned-in ends penetrating said flange and 10 adapted to engage withrecesses in the neck of a vessel when in horizontal'position, and to

